One of the biggest prospects in MMA is on the verge of his professional journey.
Highly decorated wrestler Bo Nickal makes his highly-anticipated professional debut Friday at Jorge Masvidal’s iKon Fighting Championship in Richmond, Va. Nickal (0-0) takes on John Noland (0-0) in a middleweight bout. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.
Nickal’s pro debut shows quick progression in his fighting career as he only started training MMA seriously in August. Yet, Nickal, who’s 2-0 as an amateur, is convinced it’s time to take his career to the next level.
“I felt that for my development and the way that I’m progressing, it made sense to turn pro,” Nickal recently told MMA Junkie. “If I could’ve gotten an amateur fight March or April, it would’ve been great. But at this point with this fight coming up in June, I just didn’t feel the need to delay my pro debut any longer.
“I feel ready to compete at that level and start my career off. At that point, I started training this past August, so it’ll be 10 months, close to a year. I feel ready to take that next step.”
Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and three-time Big Ten Conference champion for Penn State University. He won a national championship and a U-23 world championship, both in 2019 in the 92kg (202.8-pound) weight class. He finished college with a 120-3 record, including a 61-0 record in his junior and senior years combined.
On top of his highly respected background in wrestling, Nickal forged his MMA skill-base in part with one of the most recognizable MMA teams, American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla.
ATT has been crucial for Nickal’s development and he says it’s a big reason why he feels ready to go professional.
“I think my comfort level, training, and the way that I feel when I’m sparring rounds,” Nickal said in regards to what indicators pushed him to go professional. “Obviously, being able to go down to ATT in Coconut Creek and train with Masvidal, guys like Johnny Eblen and Roman Faraldo, and work with Mike Brown and different coaches out there, that really was a good indicator of whether or not I’m ready to go and take that next step.
“Where I’m at right now in State College at my gym, we have a lot of tough guys, but the guys down at ATT in Florida just have so much experience. We’re all pretty green up here. So being able to go down there and see where I’m at and see how I handle pressure against guys that have a lot of experience and have been in big fights in pro cards, that’s something that was really good for me. It just gave me confidence that I’m ready to move to that next level.”
As far as where this professional journey in MMA could lead to, Nickal is open about his ultimate goal. A 26-year-old prospect, Nickal is determined to become UFC champion and all all-time great one day.
“I don’t think that I need to rush this process,” Nickal said. “I’m looking to take it one step at a time and continue to grow as a person and as a competitor and a fighter. So for me, the goal remains the same – UFC champion, pound-for-pound No. 1 guy on the roster.
“I want to be the best fighter on the planet. I think that will happen inside of five years. So for me, it’s just continuing to work every single day. I don’t have a single doubt in my mind. It doesn’t matter if it’s an amateur fight or if I have my pro debut or if I have 10 professional fights. That’s always my goal. That’s always on my mind.
“I’m looking to go out and dominate and win. I just feel like I’m a winner. That’s what I’m born to do. So yeah, the goal remains the same. It doesn’t matter what part of my career I’m in.”
Top prospect Bo Nickal opens up about decision to go pro: ‘I feel ready to take that next step’